"It was an outstanding game, back and forth," said Boyne coach Nick Redman, whose team lost both regular-season meetings with the Rayders, the first by 25 points, the second by 30. "When we played them at home, we played them really tough for three-and-a-half quarters, so we knew we could compete with them. ... We knew we were going to be a different team. Honestly, the kids believed. They played fearless."

During that game, the Ramblers went down 63-38, a spread made much wider by a late Rayder run, Charlevoix coach Adam Wood said.

"We made a run late in the second half and made the final score look a little more exaggerated than what it was," Wood said. "Coach [Redman] always does a

great job and two years in a row we struggled with them in the districts. We had an off night all around, whether it was handling the ball or pressure or shooting the ball."

It was the second straight year the Ramblers have knocked off the Rayders in the district tournament. Boyne, 9-12, will play Harbor Springs, 8-13, for the title 7 p.m. Friday. Harbor advanced to the final with a 60-45 victory over Mancelona.

Charlevoix, the district favorite after winning the Lake Michigan Conference title, finished 16-5.

Senior Dylan Putman was the top scorer for the Rayders with 21 points while junior Andrew Potter added seven.

"We lost three starters throughout the year," said Wood. "For the rest of these guys to pick it up, win a conference and leave a little bit of a legacy, it says a lot about their character and their ability to face adversity."

Junior Jay Redman scored all 16 of his points in the second half, 11 of them coming in the third quarter, while Kolbi Shumaker added 10 poitns and four assists for Boyne, which lost several close games this season.

"By winning it last year, that helped our program more than anybody could imagine," he said. "With all those close games we played, I think we learned the hard way.

"Before we got on the bus (tonight) I showed them the last quarter and a half of last year's (district-title) game against Charlevoix and I really stressed how every possession matters. And it came down to the last possession again."

Charlevoix led 20-16 at halftime before the Rayders tied it up, 29-29, headed into the fourth.

Boyne got outstanding defensive contributions off the bench from the likes of Tevin Larmond and Luke Thorp.

"Tevin Larmond did an awesome job off the bench defensively, he changed the game by his defensive effort," coach Redman said. "Every single player that stepped on the floor knew their role. Luke Thorp, he played the whole fourth quarter and did a great job on (Charlevoix's Brennan) Ackerman."

"I want to congratulate Adam on doing an outstanding job, and Dylan Putman played an outstanding game."

Friday's final shapes up as a showdown of longtime rivals Harbor and Boyne, both members of the Lake Michigan Conference who are quite familiar with one another.

Boyne won both regular-season meetings, 67-61, on Jan. 28, and 69-68 in overtime on Feb. 25.

And while the Rams lost four of their final five regular-season games, they were clearly playing some of their best basketball during that stretch. The one-point OT loss to Boyne, a victory over previously unbeaten Fife Lake Forest Area, and a five-point loss to a good Traverse City St. Francis team in the regular-season finale is evidence of that.

The Rams broke away from Mancelona in the second quarter, building a 17-point lead. The Ironmen never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.